Rotation 5: Drug Information

Posted by Sarah Choi at Sunday, November 17, 2019

My drug information rotation was very different from my last three rotations as it was mainly project based. Rather than directly impacting patients with recommendations or interventions I made on rounds, I was able to impact the hospital as a whole while working on different projects.

One of the major projects I worked on was creating a SGLT2 inhibitor class monograph, in order to assess whether one agent should be added to formulary. This involved reviewing package inserts, databases, and primary literature for each SGLT2 inhibitor and then synthesizing the information into one document. The committee members will then review the monograph prior to meeting and make a decision about adding SGLT2 inhibitors to formulary—an addition that impacts the entire hospital and not just one patient.

Other projects I worked on included analysis of ethanol (beer) use in hospitalized patients over the last year, determining the efficacy of a “magic” mouthwash, running experiments with a suspected faulty device, and reporting a device related adverse event to the FDA MedWatch System and the hospital’s internal reporting system. I was also able to attend the P&T committee’s and other subcommittees’ meetings and witness the process of revising and approving policies firsthand. I presented a topic discussion on literature evaluation and also a journal club on dapagliflozin’s efficacy and safety in heart failure patients.

The best part of this drug information rotation was being exposed to so many different aspects of the hospital and working on unique projects. It’s very different having project based work and making recommendations on things that will impact the entire health system. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to explore drug information and I’m looking forward to being exposed to more new things in my future rotations.